Detroit traded Jim Brewer to Portland on September 18, 1979 for a 1981 second-round pick. Brewer played 67 games for the Trail Blazers in 1979-80, then Portland moved him to the Lakers for a 1984 second-round pick that became Jerome Kersey. Kersey played 831 regular-season games for Portland, second-most in franchise history. Detroit also extracted real value from its pick: the Pistons sent it to the Lakers for Wayne Robinson, who played 81 games for Detroit in 1980-81 at 7.9 points and 3.6 rebounds. Both branches paid off, but Portland's Brewer-to-Kersey chain created the overwhelming long-term advantage.
Basketball-Reference records Detroit sending Jim Brewer to Portland on September 18, 1979 for a 1981 second-round pick. That selection eventually became No. 39 overall, but Detroit did not make the pick itself.
Brewer played 67 regular-season games for the Trail Blazers in 1979-80. He averaged 2.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 15.2 minutes while filling a reserve frontcourt role. The direct playing return was modest, but Portland did not let the asset expire. On October 8, 1980, the Trail Blazers traded Brewer to the Lakers for a 1984 second-round pick.
Portland kept the 1984 second-rounder and used it at No. 46 on Jerome Kersey. The downstream link is direct: Brewer was the outgoing asset in the trade that brought Portland the exact pick used on Kersey. Kersey then played 831 regular-season games for the Trail Blazers. Basketball-Reference's franchise leaderboard ranks him second in Portland history in games played, behind only Clyde Drexler. That transforms what initially looked like a one-year Brewer rental into a long-term franchise asset chain. Kersey became a major part of Portland's core through the late 1980s and early 1990s, including the teams that reached the 1990 and 1992 NBA Finals.
Detroit also avoided simply waiting for the 1981 draft. On October 1, 1980, the Pistons traded the incoming second-round pick to the Lakers for Wayne Robinson. Robinson played 81 games for Detroit in 1980-81 and averaged 7.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 19.7 minutes. It was his only NBA season, but that is still a substantial one-year return from a second-round asset. The Lakers later used the pick at No. 39 on Harvey Knuckles. Knuckles therefore belongs to the final draft identity of the pick, not Detroit's realized on-court return. Detroit's value came from Robinson.
Detroit's side was respectable: 81 Robinson games is a better return than many second-round picks produce. But Portland received 67 Brewer games and then converted Brewer directly into the pick used on Kersey. Kersey's 831 Portland games dwarf the one-season Robinson return and turn the original transaction into a major Trail Blazers asset-chain win.
Trail Blazers Win, A+/B. Portland receives an A+ because Brewer produced a season of depth and then directly became the draft pick used on Jerome Kersey, who played 831 games for the franchise. Detroit receives a B because it turned the second-round pick into 81 games of Wayne Robinson rather than losing the asset at the draft.